Abu Dhabi’s G42-owned Presight AI wants its data analytics at center of everything – even sports

Dubai: Thomas Pramotedham does know his cricket – or more to the point, what data analytics mixed with AI can do for players, teams and coaches.

“We are working with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (for the UAE’s ILT20), which is an extension of (Bollywood superstar) Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR franchise,” said Pramotedham, who is the CEO of Presight AI, part of the Abu Dhabi headquartered G42 conglomerate and in the closing stages of its IPO.

“Data analytics can be applied in how a batter matches up to a particular bowler, the wagon wheel distribution, even for an insight into pitch conditions. In time, data analytics can help talent scouts get better at what they are doing – disrupt the whole ‘moneyball’ scouting game.”

Pramotedham sures makes his point to anyone who thought data analytics and AI was only for governments delivering smart services or digitization, or to be deployed in financial services and high-tech industries.

Presight AI in fact has marked out sports as a key vertical where its insights can be made to work for all-round good results.

That’s when Pramotedham changes tack, and refers to another sport – football – to deliver a definitive statement. “By making data analytics available, we want to help talent scouts find the next Ronaldo or Messi before they are discovered,” he adds.

Plenty on Presight AI’s plate

That may be for the future to determine. For now, Presight already has lots happening, whether these are big-ticket projects for the UAE federal authorities as well as overseas, in Africa and Central Asia. Plus, there is the IPO, the subscription for which closes today. (Based on market talk, Presight AI had no issue hitting the over-subscribed mark as soon as the IPO opened. This is the second G42 owned entity that’s up for an ADX listing, the first was Bayanat AI.)

Just three years into its formation, Presight AI built its track record around big-ticket projects for the federal government. “These projects are not quite in the enterprise size at this time - though they are quite large,” the CEO said. “We have worked hard to create recurring income contracts, typically with 3-year tenures.

“Our contract sizes are increasing - the Net Zero movement (on carbon emissions) presents a significant opportunity to use big data analytics into climate change initiatives. This is also where we see future opportunities to pick up multi-year contracts.”

Presight Ai is a holding company for multiple AI-focussed entities. (The sister entity, Bayanat AI, is also deep into high-tech, with its core areas including autonomous mobility services.)

Optimum possibilities

The space Presight AI is in ‘represents an addressable market of $1.5 trillion cutting across four sectors’ said Pramotedham. “What we do can create shareholder value as we move into eventual (high) growth.”

Outside of the UAE, the company sees optimum possibilities in Africa as well as in some of the Central Asian markets, many of which are at various stages of digitising government services. At some point in the near future, Presight AI's reach could extend to South Asia.

Part of being the G42 hierarchy does help, with profile and reach. G42 has just made aa $100 million investment in ByteDance, the company behind TikTok. That's high visibility indeed.

Plus, there is the G42's newly minted association with Mercedes-AMG Petronas' F1 team. And racing is another sporting space where Presight AI wants to lock in heavy data analytics...